From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives Public Account Committee (PAC) has said that there are over N250 billion in public expenditure unaccounted for, in the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation’s report for the 2020/2021 fiscal year.
PAC chairman, Bamidele Salam, who stated this on Tuesday in Abuja at a pre-conference press briefing for the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance (NCPAFG), said this is in addition to high incidents of unauthorised virements within the same period.
Salam noted that the trend, if not checked,d will continue to erode public confidence in government, ” undermine sustainable national development, and weaken our democratic institutions.”
He explained that the conference is convened as a key component of the legislative agenda of the 10th House to strengthen good governance and ensure sustainable development.
He said, “As a crucial stakeholder charged with the constitutional mandate to oversee public financial management activities and review reports of audit and accounting institutions, we note that Nigeria stands today at a critical juncture in its journey toward fiscal governance reforms.
“While some progress has been made over the years, and particularly the notable reforms under the current administration, entrenched systemic challenges remain. These challenges include limited full-cycle audit implementation, high-level institutional financial leakages, a skewed and opaque public financial reporting system, and widespread non-enforcement of financial protocols across MDAs at all levels of government.
“Available records from 2020/2021 Auditor General’s reports reveal that over a quarter-trillion Naira in public expenditures remain unaccounted for, with high incidents of unauthorised virements, growing numbers of audit queries each fiscal year, and the reported cases of more than 60% of MDAs persistently failing to comply with financial regulations.”